Soldier, citizen
found peace
in forgiveness

by nick bonham
the pueblo chieftain

Published: December 8, 2013;Last modified: May 5, 2015 09:05PM

It might not appear at first glance that a retired Special Forces colonel who spoke in Pueblo this past week and Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president who spent one-third of his life in prison because of apartheid, would have very much in common.

But they did. Each discovered peace and true meaning in their lives through a common thread: The power of forgiveness.

Ret. Col. Roger Donlon, who spoke at Colorado State University-Pueblo as part of the school’s Distinguished Speakers series, received the Medal of Honor for his heroism in Vietnam.

He was an Army captain leading a 12-man Special Forces detachment in Vietnam. On July 6, 1964, a Viet Cong contingent ambushed his training camp. The battle that followed for five hours left Donlon with multiple war wounds — and deeper wounds to his soul because he watched 54 of his comrades die as he waited for his own rescue — and earned him the Medal of Honor.